Hotbox (42 page)

“Sure,” I
agreed
. While she described all the details I held the ring in between my fingers and
stared at it. It was exactly what I wanted, and w
hen she finished I said, “I’ll take it.”

With a smile she said, “Okay, but this is the only one, so unless she’s a size six, we may need to
re
size it. You’ll have to wait until Monday when our jeweler—”

“She’s a six,” I almost chuckled. “She made sure I knew that. Several times.”

“Oh,” she laughed, “so this won’t be a surprise?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Yeah,
actually
it will be a surprise.”

When I got back into town it was almost four-thirty. I made a quick trip home to put away my purchase, and
headed to
City Hall
to see Jayden.

“Hey!” she smiled when I entered her office. I had only been in her place of employment
two
other time
s
during baseball season
, so it was no wonder she was stunned to see me
. “You’re done early today,” she said, giving me a hug and kiss. “What’s the occasion?”

I shrugged. “I just wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m very surprised. And perfect timing. I was just about to leave,” she said, looking at the clock.

“Good. Are you hungry? I’d like to take you to dinner. Maybe a movie if you’re not sick of me by then,” I smiled.

She scoffed. “Sick of you. Yeah, right.”

“Do you need to go home
to change or anything?”

“Only to drop my car off, I guess.”
             
“No
need. I walked here
.”

“Oh,” she replied happily. “You thought ahead.”

“Yes, I did,” I answered, taking her hand as we headed out.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jayden had a big show she and Shawn were doing the first
Saturday
in August. They had been invited to play
the final act of an all day outdoor festival at the lake. It wasn’t the first time they’d scored a spot in the event, but this year they were practically begged to be the headliner. They were scheduled to cover an array of classic rock beginning at seven p.m., but a week before the show, Shawn received a call to see if they could possibly do something a little different. They were still desired to do the show at seven, but it was also requested that they do a second show at nine, playing current, popular music, and some of their own
stuff
.

Shawn was very excited and instantly said yes. Jayden was a little apprehensive and joked that she was too
freaked out
to be on stage that long. He didn’t give her a choice, though; he claimed she was the only reason everybody wanted them twice.

“I have an idea,” Jayden said to me the Monday before the festival. “And tell me what you think.”

“Okay, w
hat is it?”

“Well… You know how badly Shawn wants to make it
in the music industry?
Well, I have no doubt that he could do it on his own, but I have a couple of friends that might be able to…get some people to see him perform on Saturday night.”

“Yeah?” I asked slowly, not understanding the question.

“Well… Do you think Shawn
would be offended?”

“Offended?”

“Yeah, for
pulling some strings for him? You know his ego. Would he be mad at me?”

“Oh. Honestly? Yeah, he probably might,” I chuckled. “But I think he’d forgive you.”

We talked about it for a while longer while we walked
down at the river
that evening. When I finally coaxed Jayden
in
to tell
ing
me who her “friends” in the industry were, I was a little shocked. They were prominent musicians, both with very successful bands. Apparently she had actually worked with both of them on some music
“projects
.
”
I teased her about mingling with celebrities and such and was surprised when she very adamantly assured me that fame was not something she ever wanted. Shawn
did, but she did not
.

My “other life” didn’t disappear like I was hoping it magically would. I was still carefully considering what I should do. As much as I loved Jayden, I couldn’t marry her if I was mixed up in such a life.
Dean called me a few time
s;
I swear just to rub me the wrong way. Sometimes he’d wonder where my father was lately, or imply that he was keeping close tabs on me. Each time
I insisted that I needed to meet with
Olevsky
. He took the request flippantly, like I had no say in the matter whatsoever.

I hated Dean. He didn’t seem trust
w
orthy—not that any criminal is—b
ut there was something about him that gave me a strange vibe
, almost like he wanted to sea
l my fate himself
.
I didn’t know why he would feel that way. I’d never done anything to him.

The final time I told him I wanted the boss to call me, he laughed snidely and said, “You don’t meet with him whenever
you
want, Ty. Get a clue. You’re a nobody. You’re in no position to make demands.”

“Have you even told him I want to speak with him?” I finally asked outright.

After a short pause he answered, “You honestly think I should pass along your messages, Ty? Who do you think you are?”

“I think you should pass along the
message.
I’d hate for him to get upset with you.”

He scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Do you know who you’re—”?

“Pass along the message, Dean. You know he likes to be informed with what’s going on, and I have some things to tell him. Give him the message.”

I hung up the phone and groaned.

That Friday I finally got results. Lou was closing up the shop at four o’clock because of a family reunion
he
was heading to for the weekend, so
I was looking forward to surprising Jayden at work
again. And I loved the weekends.
I got to be with her
every Sunday, and sometimes Saturdays if I took it off.
The next day was the festival at the park and we planned on spending some of the day there to listen to a couple of the bands.

And
I was very excited to see her perform
two
entire show
s
.

After getting into my truck to head for home, my phone rang.
Olevsky
must have had someone watching me to know I was done earl
y for the day, but h
e
told
me to meet him at
Perdita’s
again.

I glanced at the clock, sure that the last minute meeting would interfere with surprising
my girlfriend
, but I decided it was better to get it over with and not be late meeting up with her later. I met him in the same place and manner as the last time, and sat down across from him.

“So I got your message,” he smiled kindly.

“Finally.”

He raised his eye
brow
s. “Meaning…?”

“Meaning I asked Dean four different times to have you call me.”

He looked genuinely surprised. “I wasn’t aware of that,” he replied. “And why would he refuse your request?”

I shrugged. “I assume he doesn’t like to be told what to do.”

After a momentary pause he smiled. “Well, I’m sure I can get to the bottom of it. Anyways, what can I do for you, Tyler?”

I had been through this a dozen times in my mind, deciding the best way to approach the matter. As disgusting as it was, I knew the only way I might even have a
chance
was to
grovel
.

“I’m going to ask Jayden to marry me.”
             
His face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. “Oh, Tyler! How wonderful! Congratulations, I’m very happy for you.” He continue
d to smile as he looked me over and added,
“It’s very kind of you to share such news with me.”
             
“You’re the first,” I admitted.

He was overjoyed, as I hoped he would be. “I feel honored,” he said. “
So you haven’t
talked to her father, yet? Or is that something you don’t plan on doing?”
             
“No, I plan on talking to him, but not until I’m actually going to
ask
her.”

He tho
ught about that for a moment. “Then w
hat is the reason for telling me in advance?”
             
“I need your help.”

He
opened
his eyes
with surprise,
and
his face betrayed his eagerness
. “How much do you need?”

“What? Oh,
no,
I don’t
need
money.
I already have
the
ring.”

“Oh. Then what is it I can do for you?”

I took a slow, silent breath. “I can’t marry her until…until I’m out of all this. I can’t live two lives. I need you to just…cut me loose. Please.”

The room was completely quiet and he sat there, motionless, for quite a long time. I had no idea if he was offended, if he was thinking about my request, or if he was
plotting how
to have me killed.
It was a painful moment for me
because my entire future depended on his answer. I had asked it of him before, but this time I was
truly desperate for the
answer
I wanted
.

Finally the silence was killing me. “Please,” I begged again. “I’ve never wanted something so bad in my entire life.
I just-
I can’t marry her if I’m doing things that could affect her future. I can’t have a family with her if I’m gonna be tossed in jail someday.”

He seemed amused by that
,
but he still didn’t speak.

“Just tell me what I can do
to make this happen. Or if there’s
—”

“Tyler,” he finally said, holding his hand up. I shut up and sat in silence, trying to read
his face. It
usually
never changed much;
only to portray a certain emotion he wanted people to see. Right now he had no expression whatsoever. “Remember when you told me a while back that you didn’t owe me
anything
?”

My heart sank and
I swallowed, sure he was going to use it against me.

“Well, do you remember?” he prodded.

“Yes,
”
I replied reluctantly.

“Well,” he smiled, “you were right. You don’t owe me anything. You actually have done quite a bit for me—perhaps more than others. And in ways…that you might not understand.” He folded his hands on the ta
ble in front of him. “You’ve known me
for…eight years now? You’ve never asked me for anything. Well, except to be removed from the organization, but you
had
asked it in such a way that you
assumed
it wasn’t possible. But now… This time you’ve asked with real intent. You might not know this, but others that have asked to be removed…really were removed,” he chuckled. “Permanently.”

I understood the implication and barely nodded my awareness.

“The look on your face implies that you think I could do that to you. Is that true? You actually think I would want to hurt
you?”

I shrugged. “You’ve threatened me before.”

“That’s different. Those are
motivations
. It’s what gets me what I want.
Parents threaten their children all the time.
”

“And you were willing to come between us in order to get what you wanted. That’s not wanting to hurt me?”

He
briefly
bowed his head. “I’m very sorry, Tyler. She w
as just a girl to me then. Now…
she’s something more. She’s your future.”

“So you don’t want to come between us?”

“Wh
at I want often changes
,” he
smiled
. “Whatever works for me at the time is what I use.
Parents tend to use the most effective method to get their children to obey. If you don’t take away something important to them, then they have no reason to listen.
”